U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Participate in Early Learning Parent Roundtable and Health Insurance Enrollment Event in Union City, N.J.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will meet with parents of children enrolled in New Jersey’s mixed-delivery state preschool program for a roundtable discussion on Saturday, March 15, at 10:40 a.m. at the Union City Housing Authority Pavilion in Union City, N.J. This roundtable is an opportunity to hear from parents on how early learning is helping their children.

After the roundtable event, Duncan will join Sen. Bob Menendez, Sen. Corey Booker and Rep. Albio Sires for a Latino Enrollment Summit community health event. Duncan is participating as part of an administration-wide strategy to provide helpful and accurate information about the implications of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for all Americans. The deadline to enroll for a plan in 2014 is March 31.

The Department is working with state and local partners to provide information to some of the country’s 50 million uninsured, including secondary and post-secondary students, ESL students and low income families. Among the most important provisions for families and students is access to preventative care that will result in students spending more time in the classroom learning, and less time outside of class recovering from preventable illnesses.

This day-long event will help Latinos learn about and enroll in quality health care plans available under the ACA. Attendees can obtain information on the new insurance plans, discover what financial assistance may be available to them, and work one-on-one with certified ACA navigators to get enrolled onsite. On the day of the event, attendees interested in enrolling will need to provide an email address, social security number, proof of legal residency (residence card, or citizenship certificate or passport), and income verification in order to apply.

For several years, the Department has engaged in sharing health information with students and parents including details about the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the 1990s and the H1NI flu outbreak in 2010.